MLB Player News

Barnes agreed to a two-year, $4.3 million contract with the Dodgers on Sunday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Barnes will avoid arbitration with the Dodgers by reaching a two-year deal with the team ahead of spring training. The 31-year-old should serve in a reserve role behind the plate once again in 2021 after slashing .244/.353/.314 with one home run and nine RBI over 86 at-bats last season.

Collins will be challenged for the backup catching job with the addition of Jonathan Lucroy, Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald reports.

With the White Sox building toward a deeper playoff run, manager Tony La Russa may prefer the veteran Lucroy over Collins, who has yet to establish himself behind the plate. He may still be part of the 26-man roster as a third catcher and DH if prospect Andrew Vaughn opens the season in the minors.

Rutschman has been invited to the Orioles' big-league camp.

Rutschman probably won't receive serious consideration for an Opening Day roster spot, as he's played just 37 career professional games. His debut may not be too far off, however, as he's one of the best catching prospects in years and is already quite advanced. He was reportedly under consideration for a debut last season if the Orioles managed to stick in the playoff race. Exactly when Rutschman might make his debut this year remains unclear.

Bailey received an invitation Friday to the Giants' major-league spring training.

The 13th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft, Bailey will be in big-league camp during his first spring training as a professional. He has yet to make a game appearance due to the cancellation of the minor-league season last year, but he was added to San Francisco's 60-man player pool and worked at the alternate training site.

Heim was sent from Texas to Oakland along with Khris Davis and Dane Acker on Saturday in a trade which sent Elvis Andrus, Aramis Garcia and cash considerations the other way, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Heim made a brief MLB debut last season, hitting .211/.268/.211 in 13 games. He may not project as anything close to a star, but he has a good chance to be a useful enough piece for the Rangers, as he hit a strong .310/.385/.477 in 85 games across the two highest levels of the minors in 2019. He'll be competing for a roster spot with Jose Trevino, Sam Huff and Drew Butera in camp.

Realmuto feels 100 percent after recovering from the hip flexor strain he battled late in the season, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

Realmuto missed 11 games with the issue in mid-September and spent time at first base and designated hitter after his return. Despite the fact that he was able to return before the end of the regular season, he indicated Monday that he didn't feel fully healthy until three or four weeks into the offseason. Now fully healed, the issue doesn't appear to be a significant cause for concern for the star catcher heading into his age-30 season.

Perez signed a minor-league deal with the Athletics on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The 30-year-old has spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues, though he hasn't done much with his opportunities and hasn't received any since 2018. in 670 career plate appearances at the highest level, he owns a .215/.257/.319 slash line. He was a member of Oakland's player pool last season but never made it onto the big-league roster.

Godoy was invited to Seattle's minor-league camp Thursday, Lauren Smith of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Godoy has spent his entire professional career thus far as a member of the Cardinals' system. He's a fringe prospect at best, projecting for a sub-par bat with average defense, but he could earn his big-league debut this season as he lines up as one of Seattle's top minor-league depth options behind the plate.

Realmuto agreed to a five-year, $115.5 million deal to return to the Phillies on Tuesday, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

There was no better player to fill the Realmuto-shaped hole in Philadelphia than Realmuto himself, so it makes sense that he and the Phillies were able to come to terms on a deal that suits both sides. Realmuto's average annual value of $23.1 million will be the highest ever for a catcher. It's hard to say the contract is undeserved, as he's been the top backstop in the league over the last several seasons. Heading into his age-30 season, Realmuto will presumably start declining sometime soon, but he showed no signs of doing so last season, hitting .266/.349/.491 with 11 homers and four steals in 47 games. He should remain a key piece of a decent lineup in a hitter-friendly park for the foreseeable future.

The Athletics announced Monday that Soderstrom will report to big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee.

After being selected in the first round of the 2020 first-year player draft, Soderstrom didn't get the chance to make his debut in affiliated ball due to the cancellation of the minor-league season. The assignment to major-league spring training will thus give the Athletics a greater opportunity to evaluate Soderstrom against higher-level competition, even though he won't be a serious candidate to break camp with the big club. Look for the 19-year-old backstop to make his professional debut at the rookie-ball level.